Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton

Who is Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton?

Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Dowager Countess of Swinton, DSG, DL, Baroness Masham of Ilton in her own right, is a crossbench member of the House of Lords. She is the senior female life peer..

She was born as Susan Lilian Primrose Sinclair, the daughter of Major Sir Ronald Sinclair, 8th Baronet. She was educated at the Heathfield School and London Polytechnic. In 1959 she married Lord Masham, who became The 2nd Earl of Swinton in 1972. By this marriage Susan Cunliffe-Lister became Countess of Swinton. Lord and Lady Swinton adopted two children. Lady Swinton was widowed in 2006. She is a prominent Roman Catholic convert and a patron of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology.

Lady Swinton was disabled in a riding accident in 1959, and subsequently became a champion for causes related to disability. She was created a life peer in 1970 as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, of Masham in the North Riding of the County of York. She and her husband are one of the few couples to both hold titles in their own right. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1976 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the foyer of the De Vere hotel in Kensington, London.